Dinosaurs Before Dark (Magic Tree House, No. 1) [Paperback]

Mary Pope Osborne (Author), Sal Murdocca (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: 1992

This series is wonderful for new chapter readers. The short chapters contain pictures, making reading easy and helping to keep the readers' imagination engaged. This book is #1 in the Magic Tree House Series. The adventure begins with Jack and Annie being whisks away in a mysterious tree house to the prehistoric past. Now they have to figure out how to get home. Can they do it before dark... or will they become dinner for a dinosaur?

Product Details

• Paperback: 80 pages
• Publisher: Scholastic; MAGIC TREE HOUSE #1 edition (1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0439238927
• ISBN-13: 978-0439238922
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 4.8 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 0.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (100 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,168,056 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

"I'm one of those very lucky people who absolutely loves what they do for a living. There is no career better suited to my eccentricities, strengths, and passions than that of a children's book author."--Mary Pope Osborne

Mary Pope Osborne is the author of the popular Magic Tree House series. She works with her husband Will and her sister Natalie on the nonfiction companion series, Magic Tree House Research Guides. Many of her books have been named to best-books lists.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

49 of 52 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Dinosaurs Before Dark, June 13, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Dinosaurs Before Dark (Magic Tree House, No. 1) (Paperback)

My name is George. I am eight years old, and I am in 3rd grade. Thetitle is Dinosaur Before Dark and the author's name is Mary PopeOshorne. Jack and Annie went to the Magic Tree House. So Jack and Annie saw a lot of books.Jack picked up one book and put it in his backpack. When Annie and Jack came out they saw a dinosaur from a long time ago. They saw a Pterandon flying around the Magic Tree House.Annie and Jack took a flight from the Pterandon. Jack and Annie went to the past where dinosaurs lived. The dinosaurs that Jack and Annie saw were Pterandon,Triceratops, duck-billed dinosaur, and Tyrannosaurs Rex. When they saw the Tyrannosaurs Rex, he tried to eat them.

I liked this book because they went back in time to explore where was the dinosaur live. Yes I will recommend to other children to read this book to the 3rd graders. I give this story 5 stars. END

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great family bedtime book., October 12, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Dinosaurs Before Dark (Magic Tree House, No. 1) (Paperback)

This book was recommended as a good read for our 8 year old who does not enjoy reading. We found this to be an interesting book that reads fast and keeps you hanging onto each word wondering what will happen next. All four of our children enjoyed this book (ages 4 1/2,6,8,and 12). We had to go out and get several other Magic Treehouse books. We can't wait to see where Annie and Jack go next.

28 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great intro to chapter books, August 20, 2000

By 

IdeaMom (Northeast USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dinosaurs Before Dark (Magic Tree House, No. 1) (Paperback)

I bought this book for my 4 year old who is wild about dinosaurs. He loves being read to and needed something a little more advanced than picture books. This book was a great start because the subject matter was something he was interested in, he could easily comprehend what was being read, and it could be finished in one sitting. There were enough pictures in the book to maintain his interest.

After reading this book, we have embarked on a new Magic Tree House adventure a day. My son looks forward to this time so much. Thank goodness the books are at the library! The books can be read by a parent in about a 30 minute sitting. I recorded Dinosaurs Before Dark on tape for my son to listen to any time since it is his favorite of the series so far.

Also to extend the reading activity at home, we created a Cretaceous period dinosaur diorama. My son loves acting out the story with his own dinosaurs...